Production of Biojet fuel using Hydrodynamic Cavitation Reactor in Paros University
The Petrochemicals Department at the Faculty of Engineering carried out a study aiming at designing a reactor for the production of biofuel using hydrodynamic cavitation technique. This technique is based on intensifying the rate of the reaction and the production of biofuels from non-edible oil by introducing bubbles to the liquid. A model was constructed to t explains this process and validate it using experimental data. The reactor has already been implemented successfully and experiments have been conducted to test to prove its effectiveness. This clean biofuel is considered as an alternative to fossil fuel used in industry, in aviation in addition to avoiding the negative impacts of fossil fuel combustion.
It is expected that air travel would increase by 5% annually until 2026, which would further grow the jet fuel demand by 3%. Commercial jet fuel is a fossil fuel primarily consisting C8 to C16 hydrocarbons. As of 2012, the global consumption of commercial jet fuel is 13.16 EJ, covering 12% of the global transportation energy consumption, and is forecasted to increase by another 10.5 EJ by 2040. The use of petroleum-based products creates substantial air pollution problems all over the world and different alternatives are being explored currently to develop synthesis routes for alternate bio jet fuel.
The production of an alternate source such as bio jet fuel can be a viable sustainable option, based on non-edible oils, and inline with the sustainable development goals and Egypt 2030. The development of bio jet fuel from renewable sources would not only reduce the reliance on fossil fuels, but also can potentially reduce CO2 emissions by up to 68.1% in 2050.
Hydrodynamic cavitation can be effectively used for the intensification of interesterification reaction for the synthesis of bio jet fuel and glycerol.
Schematic Diagram of the Hydrodynamic Cavitation Reactor